Brazil, Bolsonaro nears victory in battle of ‘democracy or facism’

Par Tom Phillips And Dom Phillips Rio De Janeiro - 2 mn

Front runner Jair Bolsonaro fell short of an overall majority but is favourite to to prevail in a second-round run-off PILAR OLIVARES/ REUTERS

After a campaign as improbable and electrifying as any Brazilian telenovela – although infinitely more consequential for the future of one of the world’s largest and most diverse democracies – the far-right Brazilian populist Jair Bolsonaro secured a resounding victory in the first-round of his country’s presidential election last Sunday.

After 94% of votes had been counted, Bolsonaro had secured 46.93% of votes, which left him just short of the majority required to avoid a second-round run off.

The second-placed candidate, the leftist Workers’ party Fernando Haddad , won 28% of the vote, according to Brazil’s superior electoral court, the TSE. Behind him came the Democratic Labour party’s Ciro Gomes with 12.5%. Those results mean Bolsonaro, who received more than 46 m votes, and Haddad will face off for the presidency on 28 October in a s...